Ben Needham's sister reveals heartbreak as family thought toddler had been found

TRAGIC: Ben's sister revealed how the family thought cops had found the tot

Leighanna Needham, 22, thought cops had arrived with good news when they turned up at the family home two months before the final dig on Kos.

She was with mum Kerry and grandmother Christine when officers from Operation Ben knocked on the door.

Leighanna said: "When the superintendent turned up at the door with the other officers we were all taken aback and we knew it was something serious.

"We were all sat in a line - me, my mum and my nan - holding on to each other.

"We thought they were going to tell us they'd found him."

Disappearance of Ben Needham

Tuesday, 27th September 2016

Ben Needham disappeared on 24 July 1991 at the age of 21 months from the Greek island of Kos. It is one of the longest missing person cases in the history of the United Kingdom. The search for Ben Needham continues.

1 / 20

Getty Images

Ben Needham, whose mother has been told to "prepare for the worst" by detectives who suspect he may have died 25 years ago

“We thought they were going to tell us they'd found him”

Leighanna Needham

But they were devastated when the news turned out to be a fresh theory about little Ben's death.

Police explained a new witness had claimed the toddler died in an accident on the day he went missing.

"The tears just silently fell from all three of us and I felt our hands tighten around each other," Leighanna said.

"It was just a blur after they said that."

She said the family will continue to fight "until their final breaths" to get to the bottom of Ben's mystery disappearance.

The final dig on Kos failed to offer compelling evidence of his death, but cops concluded the most likely theory was the tot had been accidentally killed by a digger driver.

After three weeks of excavation near the farmhouse where Ben was last seen in 1991, a yellow toy car was discovered.

It is believed the tot was playing with the car when he disappeared and tests are being carried out to confirm whether it was his.